Just one year after opening in Newport Beach, bari has attracted a loyal following of locals who love the high-intensity, full-body workout.
By Lauren Matich
High-energy dancing and jumping on trampolines are all in a day’s workout for Alexandra Bonetti Pérez, founder of bari, the New York City-based boutique fitness studio that opened in Newport off San Joaquin Hills Road and MacArthur Boulevard last April.
The workout’s three techniques yield serious results. Heart-pumping dance sequences in a sensory cardio class allow participants to show off their moves, while others tap into their inner child and burn calories on ceiling-mounted trampolines. As the final act of the workout trio, muscle sculpting combines principles from yoga and Pilates with those from other sports.
We had the opportunity to chat with Alexandra about the different elements of her workout and how bari is helping residents ready their beach bodies for spring.
Newport Beach Magazine: How do the intense movement sequences in bari’s sensory cardio improve upon other dance-based cardio classes?
Alexandra Bonetti Pérez: [Sensory cardio] feels like dance cardio, but a little bit more athletic. We work a lot on agility and lateral movements so that we’re building your core strength and your leg strength in every direction. You’re going to be doing a lot of side-to-side twists in a way that you might not when you’re dancing, but it really is exercise. … We’re really exploring movement in a fitness way, but it has that dance feel, so it’s fun.
Why are trampolines important?
ABP: When you’re on the trampoline, gravity is very different. At the top of your movement, you have basically no weight, and at the bottom of your movement, you can have up to four times your weight, so that takes it to a different dimension. And you’re not hitting your joints as hard as you would on the floor, so your joints feel it less.
What areas do the muscle sculpting classes target?
ABP: The rules we follow are very core-centric. … So it’s basically like an abs class even when we’re doing cardio. That reminds people of Pilates and yoga a lot. And then the way that we move—we use a lot of diagonal movements—reminds me more of actually playing a sport like tennis or swimming, because you’re using your entire body very functionally.
What are the different ways people can practice bari?
ABP: We have group classes [and] we have private training, where you work one-on-one with a trainer at bari. We have group privates, so you can come in with [three to six] friends, and we also do home privates.
What sort of body does bari produce?
ABP: It’s very long and lean. The No. 1 thing that people see as they come in is [body] circumference lost. From there, we tone—but not in a bulky way. We don’t lift a ton of weights; we don’t do repetitive movements. We use bands for weights instead, so it creates a very long, defined muscle.
What makes bari different from other cardio-based workouts?
ABP: We create a very specific body type because of our formula, the mix of cardio that we have and the way we build your muscle. That’s the main differentiator. Very few people combine sensory cardio, trampoline cardio and muscle sculpting, no one in the way that we do, … so the workout itself is very unique.
